How do deer know there kin? Do you shoot nub bucks?
12-10-2008, 03:02 AM
#1
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 274
How do deer know there kin? Do you shoot nub bucks?
My brother tells me he can shoot every nubbin buck he sees and it will have no effect on his buck population because they end up moving to a different area anyway, because they cannot be around the family group because of in-breeding etc.
Anyone have any info to add to this? I am unsure of his way of thinking, because even if he is right you are hurting someone else's quality hunt by doing what he does.
Do the young bucks move out of the area completely? And how do they know years down the road who there mom, sister, brother is? They could be breeding there own family members if they stayed in the same area years later.
Just curious what everyone here thinks about this. Let me know.
Thanks
Anyone have any info to add to this? I am unsure of his way of thinking, because even if he is right you are hurting someone else's quality hunt by doing what he does.
Do the young bucks move out of the area completely? And how do they know years down the road who there mom, sister, brother is? They could be breeding there own family members if they stayed in the same area years later.
Just curious what everyone here thinks about this. Let me know.
Thanks
12-10-2008, 05:49 AM
#2
Typical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 675
RE: How do deer know there kin? Do you shoot nub bucks?
ORIGINAL: buckmaster68
And how do they know years down the road who there mom, sister, brother is?
And how do they know years down the road who there mom, sister, brother is?
ORIGINAL: buckmaster68
They could be breeding there own family members if they stayed in the same area years later.
They could be breeding there own family members if they stayed in the same area years later.
12-10-2008, 07:09 AM
#4
Typical Buck
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location:
Posts: 751
RE: How do deer know there kin? Do you shoot nub bucks?
And, although I have shot my share of them....how do you know it's not one that has moved in from another area? A buck is a buck no matter where it is. Chances are also, especially around here, if you shoot a good deer, he's likely to have come through 2143247832432 other properties where people hunt before he got to you, somehow.
12-10-2008, 07:14 AM
#5
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Northern Wisconsin
Posts: 1,161
RE: How do deer know there kin? Do you shoot nub bucks?
yea they do move around, atleast a couple miles for sure. This year i had a stand 2.4 miles from my neighbors, and got it on trail cam that morning and that night he shot it at his stand, So they do move around. Also i dont have my big 8 and 9 anymore, they ran off somewhere... And no i do not shoot nub bucks. Not my type of hunting, i dont shoot fawns either. I have to let them get a chance to mature a little bit, people say 3 1/2 year old bucks arent mature but dang man, before they get to you there dead around here! if i see a 3 1/2 year old 8 come in im shooting it, no questions asked. Good luck and i hope for the best
12-10-2008, 10:02 AM
#7
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: charlottesville, virginia
Posts: 1,732
RE: How do deer know there kin? Do you shoot nub bucks?
Yearling bucks do usually migrate from their mother's home year in their second year of life. That being said, its probably not going to really hurt the number of bucks you see on your property to take a couple of button bucks. It is likely that a couple may hang around in your general area, so the more you take the more you increase the chance of taking one that cold be a shooter on your property in a couple years.
More than anything though if you want bigger bucks around taking a button buck isn't the greatest idea. Big bucks travel incredible distances during the rut and even if a button does leave one year thats not saying he won't be back in subsequent years. Also, saying you're going to shoot button bucks because it won't affect your property is, IMO, somewhat selfish. If everyone around you had this attitude, remember, that you wouldn't be seeing any big bucks either
More than anything though if you want bigger bucks around taking a button buck isn't the greatest idea. Big bucks travel incredible distances during the rut and even if a button does leave one year thats not saying he won't be back in subsequent years. Also, saying you're going to shoot button bucks because it won't affect your property is, IMO, somewhat selfish. If everyone around you had this attitude, remember, that you wouldn't be seeing any big bucks either
12-10-2008, 10:11 AM
#8
Typical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Person Co. NC
Posts: 884
RE: How do deer know there kin? Do you shoot nub bucks?
Click here for the whole article http://www.qdma.com/articles/details.asp?id=134
QDMA Articles :
Protecting Yearling Bucks (February 2006)
Back to List
By: Kip Adams
Many hunters unfamiliar with Quality Deer Management (QDM) incorrectly assume QDM is only about large-antlered bucks. Many also feel antler point restrictions (APRs) are synonymous with QDM. Pieces from both of these beliefs can be parts of QDM programs but QDM is about much more than just antlers or APRs.
In simplest terms QDM involves balancing the deer herd with the habitat and having deer - bucks and does - in multiple age classes. Determining and achieving the right number of deer for the habitat is a topic for another discussion and this article will focus on multiple age classes of deer. Most areas have a good age structure for the doe population as it is common for hunters to harvest does 1.5-6.5+yrs. This age structure exists because of traditional deer management practices where hunters focused much of their harvest pressure on bucks and allowed does to survive and fill multiple age classes.
Very few places have this same age structure for the buck population. Typical buck populations include a high percentage (60-80%) of yearlings, a small percentage (10-30%) of 2.5yr olds, an even smaller percentage (5-10%) of 3.5yr olds and almost no 4.5+yr olds. This young age structure is a direct result of harvest pressure by hunters. In the not-too-distant past most hunters focused intense pressure on yearling bucks and removed the majority of that age class. In historical Pennsylvania for example, hunters routinely removed over 80% of the yearling age class on an annual basis! With that removal rate, less than 1% of Pennsylvania’s bucks ever reached maturity.
Quality Deer Management helps correct this imbalance by protecting young bucks and allowing them to survive into the older age classes. Quality Deer Management isn’t about protecting bucks until they are 5.5yrs old - that’s trophy management. Quality Deer Management, in simplest terms is about protecting yearling bucks. Yearling bucks are the easiest adult deer to harvest, but if hunters pass them and allow them to reach 2.5yrs, they become a little smarter and some will avoid hunters and reach 3.5yrs. Some of those will then avoid hunters and reach 4.5yrs, etc. Pretty soon you end up with a deer population that has bucks in multiple age classes even while allowing bucks 2.5yrs and older to be harvested. A complete age structure is good for deer and great for hunters.
QDMA Articles :
Protecting Yearling Bucks (February 2006)
Back to List
By: Kip Adams
Many hunters unfamiliar with Quality Deer Management (QDM) incorrectly assume QDM is only about large-antlered bucks. Many also feel antler point restrictions (APRs) are synonymous with QDM. Pieces from both of these beliefs can be parts of QDM programs but QDM is about much more than just antlers or APRs.
In simplest terms QDM involves balancing the deer herd with the habitat and having deer - bucks and does - in multiple age classes. Determining and achieving the right number of deer for the habitat is a topic for another discussion and this article will focus on multiple age classes of deer. Most areas have a good age structure for the doe population as it is common for hunters to harvest does 1.5-6.5+yrs. This age structure exists because of traditional deer management practices where hunters focused much of their harvest pressure on bucks and allowed does to survive and fill multiple age classes.
Very few places have this same age structure for the buck population. Typical buck populations include a high percentage (60-80%) of yearlings, a small percentage (10-30%) of 2.5yr olds, an even smaller percentage (5-10%) of 3.5yr olds and almost no 4.5+yr olds. This young age structure is a direct result of harvest pressure by hunters. In the not-too-distant past most hunters focused intense pressure on yearling bucks and removed the majority of that age class. In historical Pennsylvania for example, hunters routinely removed over 80% of the yearling age class on an annual basis! With that removal rate, less than 1% of Pennsylvania’s bucks ever reached maturity.
Quality Deer Management helps correct this imbalance by protecting young bucks and allowing them to survive into the older age classes. Quality Deer Management isn’t about protecting bucks until they are 5.5yrs old - that’s trophy management. Quality Deer Management, in simplest terms is about protecting yearling bucks. Yearling bucks are the easiest adult deer to harvest, but if hunters pass them and allow them to reach 2.5yrs, they become a little smarter and some will avoid hunters and reach 3.5yrs. Some of those will then avoid hunters and reach 4.5yrs, etc. Pretty soon you end up with a deer population that has bucks in multiple age classes even while allowing bucks 2.5yrs and older to be harvested. A complete age structure is good for deer and great for hunters.
12-10-2008, 10:21 AM
#9
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 1,462
RE: How do deer know there kin? Do you shoot nub bucks?
I really can't even come close to sharing your brothers opinion. Personaly, Button Bucks walk for me and anyone I hunt with unless I have a farmer says shoot as many as you can. Lets say that everyone shared your brothers opinion in the 5 miles radius of your hunting land. If so than everyone would be shooting button bucks and 2 years down the road, you wouldn't have any mature deer. Sure, some bucks would move in from farther away, but in no way would you have the amount of bucks you should have. Plus, shplantation is right, your doe to buck ratio would be way off and forget trying to find bucks searching for does during the rut, every buck will have no problem sitting with a doe that is in Estrus since the buck to doe ratio is way off. I have to think your brother might need to rethink his reasoning.
